BALOCHISTAN: The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for killing 18 Pakistani security personnel and detaining a senior officer in a series of 25 operations carried out across Balochistan over the course of one week, according to a statement issued by the group’s spokesperson.
In a statement issued to the media, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said the operations were conducted between May 15 and May 22, targeting Pakistani army, police and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel across multiple districts. The group said two of its own fighters were also killed during the clashes.
The spokesperson said fighters ambushed what the group describes as “death squad” operatives in the Gwargo area of Panjgur, killing three and wounding five others. In a separate operation in the Kili Jamaldini area of Nushki, fighters raided and burned down a hideout belonging to an operative identified as Cyrus Jamaldini. A supply vehicle for Pakistani forces was set on fire in the Dasht area of Mastung, while another ration vehicle was seized in Basima. In the Jabshan area of Zamran, an IED attack killed one army officer and wounded another. In Turbat, fighters attacked an FWO camp, seizing weapons and setting heavy machinery on fire before ambushing a responding army convoy, killing three personnel and wounding several others.
In Quetta, grenade launcher shells were fired at an army post near Degree College, causing significant damage. In Sorab, fighters took control of the main highway, conducting snap checks and attacking an advancing army convoy. During the clashes, two BLA fighters identified as Salman alias Farzand and a companion were killed. In Kharan, the CTD office was attacked with multiple grenade launcher shells.
Jeeyand Baloch further said that a CTD official identified as Shabbir Askani was killed in an armed attack in Turbat, with his weapons seized. The BLA said that the official was involved in extrajudicial killings and other abuses. On the Quetta-Taftan highway near Nushki, fighters detained 17 individuals associated with the Reko Diq mining project during a checkpoint operation. The group said they were later released at the request of the commander of allied organization SRA.
Fighters seized ten vehicles on the Quetta-Taftan highway in Mastung, burning five that were carrying government supplies. In Kech, an army ambush near Bilangore killed at least two personnel and damaged a vehicle. In Kharan, a remote-controlled IED killed one member of the army’s bomb disposal squad on the Quetta-Kharan highway. A second IED attack in Mastung’s Dasht area killed two more army personnel.
On the same day, Airport Security Force (ASF) Deputy Director and Commanding Officer Waseem Ahmed was detained on the main highway in Kalat. The BLA said the operation was carried out by its intelligence wing Zarab, which had been monitoring Ahmed’s movements across Zhob, Quetta and Karachi for several months while he was traveling from Quetta to Karachi.
According to the spokesperson, fighters took control of the CPEC route M-8 in the Wingo area of Khuzdar for over two hours, attacking an army convoy and shooting down a military quadcopter drone. In Jhal Magsi, joint operations by the BLA and United Baloch Army targeted police and army personnel in Kotra and Gandwah, with a police station attacked, a police post seized and burned, weapons taken and one officer briefly detained before being released. Four large vehicles were damaged on the Chedgi route in Panjgur, and fuel vehicles for the Saindak project were set on fire in Dalbandin.
Two army bomb disposal personnel were killed in an IED attack in the Dasht area of Mastung. In the Ornach area of Khuzdar, a Pakistani army officer traveling in civilian disguise was detained during a three-hour checkpoint operation on the main highway. In the Wadh area of Khuzdar, an FWO construction camp was attacked with more than ten vehicles destroyed, while a simultaneous ambush on an army convoy killed three personnel.
Jeeyand Baloch reiterated that attacks would continue until what the group describes as the liberation of Balochistan.
